A Girl's Paradise
by pyromaniac325
Summary: Two girls. Two Rangers. One chance.
1. Chapter 1

" Are we there yet?" Angelica complained on their way to the annual Ranger's Gathering.

" Does it look like we're there?" The grizzled old ranger on her right said moodily.

" Right. Sorry, Halt. " she managed to sit in silence for a few moments, then turned to her mentor, drawing in a breath to ask-

" Before you ask me how much further we have to go, think about it. It's been five minutes since you last asked me. So, naturally, we're five minutes closer. " Halt grumbled, pulling the cowl of his cloak even farther over his head.

Angelica turned back to face the road, knowing they had to be close. She was bursting with excitement, this being her first gathering and all. She wanted to be there NOW, though she was sure if she told Halt that he would give her some lecture about being patient, and waiting, and generally telling her to do things like that that weren't possible.

" Halt?" she asked, somewhat timidly. She knew she was close to crossing the line of how many questions she could ask without having to do some sort of chore.

Halt sighed, looking up at the sky then back at her. " Yes?"

" Do you hear that?"

" The hoofbeats? Yes, they've been following us for sometime. I assume it's Will and his apprentice. "

Angelica grinned. "Do you want me to-"

" Not yet. Let's get into a blind spot, shall we?" They turned around a bend in the road. "Here's a good spot. "

Ange slipped off her horse, Raven, and crept into the underbrush. When she was far enough back, she sat in wait.

Eventually, the figure she recognized as Will treaty came through, followed closely by his new apprentice, who happened to be her best friend, Kit.

Angelica forced herself to sit silently and be completely still, taking a few deep breaths to calm her heartbeat. Halt had gone over this plan with her a few days before, even telling her that it was similar to the one he had pulled on Gilan with Will at Will's first gathering.

Will caught sight of the slight tracks Ange's feet had made when she slipped off her horse. He dismounted from his own shaggy gray, kneeling down to examine the tracks. He called Kit over and was explaining something. Angelica tried not to sigh with impatience. She just had to wait. Any movement now would surely give her away.

Will looked up from the footprints, his eyes scanning the forest. Angelica froze, willing his eyes to pass over her. They seemed to, but Ange knew better than to move, or even breathe.

Finally, Will stood up, going to mount his own horse. Kit followed quickly, and with one last sweep of the forest, the both of them turned away, around the other bend where Halt would be waiting to distract them.

Angelica forced herself to count to ten slowly after she heard voices drifting from where she knew Halt, Will and Kit were standing.

She began to move through the forest like a wraith, moving from shade patch to shade patch, shifting her weight so as not to crack twigs under her feet. Angelica gave herself a devilish grin before closing the final distance between her and her target.

Halt was speaking, leaning on his longbow. " Ahh, Will, I see you have an apprentice. As you'll remember, I've gotten a new addition of my own this year..."

Angelica chose this time to run up nearly directly behind both Will and Kit and scream, "HEY THERE!"

Kit gave a kind of half-scream half-squeak and turned around, lashing out on instinct and forcing Angela, laughing, to jump back a step. Will's breathing had spiked, though that was the only indication he had been caught off guard.

Angelica grinned, happy with her success.


	2. Chapter 2

"Jesus, Ange!" Kit yelled, whirling around to face her friend. "What the hell are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me!"

"Some mouth on that apprentice of yours, Will."

"She does that when she's startled," Will said, stepping out into the open from the cover of the trees.

"I can't believe you're here!" Angelica squealed, hugging Kit hard.

"I know!" Kit said, grinning and returning Angelica's hug, then looked at her mentor who was shaking his head.

"To be a Ranger you need to be silent, Kit," he said.

"Sorry, Will," She mumbled, looking down at her feet. She was too preoccupied to notice the grin playing on her mentor's lips.

"So, how much further?" Angelica asked, looking up at Halt. Both Halt and Will looked at each other, smiling.

"She ask too many questions?' Will asked, smiling.

"She's almost as bad as you," Halt replied, completely straight-faced.

"There's no possible way she's as bad as Kit" Will said.

"I'm not that bad!" Kit protested. "Am I?"

Will smirked. "No, Kit. Of course not." Will turned to Halt. "We should get out of here, before Gilan catches us here."

"Did I hear my name?"

Kit looked to her left as a tall Ranger stepped out of the trees. "Who are the two chatterboxes?" he asked. "I wanna thank them. Made it a hell of a lot easier to find the two of you." The Ranger smirked.

Both mentors looked sternly at their apprentices, who in turn looked at the ground.

"Sorry," they both mumbled.

"It's alright, Kit. You'll make up for it when we get back."

"Great, more training," She mumbled, again missing the smile on her mentor's face.

"I'm assuming I'm making the coffee?" Angelica asked Halt, resigned.

"Absolutely not, Angelica. You'd think I'd let you burn the coffee again?"

"Wait a second…" Gilan said, trailing off. "Kit? Angelica? They're girls?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Angelica asked indignantly.

Gilan ignored her and looked to Halt and Will. "You two are both training girls? I didn't even know we were going to have girls join the Corps."

"Well…" Halt began. "I can't speak for Will, but Crowley asked me to train a girl as my apprentice. He thinks that for missions where it is necessary to send a Ranger undercover a girl might be that much more inconspicuous."

"Crowley asked me to do the same thing," Will said. "How is it that neither of us knew the other was training a girl too?"

"That, Will, is an excellent question," Halt said. "And I think it is one that Crowley needs to answer for us at some point during this Gathering."

"Agreed," Will said.

"How much further is this gathering?" Angelica asked, this time directing her question at will and Gilan.

They both exchanged glances. "Let me guess," Gilan said. "Halt won't tell you?"

"He hardly tells me anything!" She complained.

The two Rangers laughed. "Welcome to life with Halt," Will told her. "And the Gathering Grounds are only about another mile from here."

Angelica smiled. "Oh, good!" She said, getting back up on Raven, and patting her neck affectionately. She then turned towards her mentor. "Can we go now?"

The grizzled ranger rolled his eyes, but mounted his own horse and nodded. The others followed suit.

Kit dug her heels slightly into the side of her horse, Sparke, so he sped up until she was riding side by side with Angelica.

"Why didn't you tell me you were training as a Ranger?" Angelica asked.

"Why do you think?" Kit answered. "You're training too. Exactly how much free time have you had?"

"Valid point," Angelica conceded, smiling at her friend. Kit returned the smile.

"Who would've guessed, Halt," Will said, "that our apprentices would know each other?"

"Small world, isn't it, Will?"

"Sure is, Halt," Will agreed. Kit looked over her shoulder, back at the other three Rangers, riding side by side as she and Angelica were.

"How did Ange and I end up, leading Will?" She asked. "We're not the one's who know where we're going."

"You're apprentice makes a good point, Will," Gilan said, and the three Rangers sped up their horses so they were riding up next to us.

"So how good are these two?" Gilan asked.

"Well," Halt began. "Angelica would give you a run for your money in unseen movement, Gil."

Gilan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He turned to look at Angelica. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?"

Angelica smirked and Halt gave her one of his rare smiles.

"And Kit's an awfully good shot," Will said.

"She had better be," Halt told him. "With you as a teacher. Other wise it would mean I taught you nothing."

Kit looked at her mentor who was rolling his eyes.

* * *

><p>It was about fifteen minutes before the Gathering Grounds came into view. Kit looked around, taking in the sight off all the other Rangers in their mottled green cloaks and the tents set up all across the massive clearing.<p>

The smell of coffee seemed to be almost permanently mixed with the air and she breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent.

She looked over at Angelica who seemed to be trying not to gag. "What's wrong?" Kit asked her.

"Coffee," she mumbled.

"You don't like Coffee?" Kit asked, shocked.

"No."

"Halt? You're training an apprentice who doesn't like coffee?" Will asked.

"God, I'm surprised he hasn't kicked her out yet," Gilan said, laughing loudly.

"She's a work in progress," Angelica's mentor replied, shaking his head.

"You can't make me like coffee, it's disgusting," Angelica said, crinkling her nose.

Will laughed quietly. "You're the exact opposite of Kit then," he said. "She's nearly as addicted to the stuff as I am…and that's after only one year."

"I drank coffee before I became your apprentice, Will," Kit said, grinning.

"That explains so much," he said, shaking his head.

"Are you complaining?"

"You're going to drink all my coffee one of these days! Or I'll go broke having to by more, won't I, Katelyn?" Kit looked slightly surprised when he used her full name.

Halt shifted in his saddle as he heard her name spoken aloud. He looked at the ground, the only indication that the name had struck a chord.

"Oh…" Will mumbled. "Caitlyn was you're sister's name, wasn't it, Halt?"

Halt nodded solemnly. "Let's go back to calling her Kit."

* * *

><p>They finally reached an open spot on the Gathering Ground and began setting up tents, or, rather, Kit and Angelica set up the tents while their mentors watched. "Now I understand what you meant when you said you forgot how much fun having an apprentice could be. I understand that fun now," Will said.<p>

"Yeah, thanks for teaching that to him, Halt," Kit teased.

"It's a right of passage," Gilan told the apprentices. "Trust me, it was done to all of us when we were apprentices."

"Hey Will? Gilan?" Angelica asked. They both looked at her. "You two were Halt's apprentices, right?"

They both nodded. "Good," Angelica continued. "So…can I ask you something?"

Gilan smirked. "What do you want to know?" The look on their faces told Angelica that they could already tell where this was going.

"Well…did he ever make either of you spend the night in a tree?"

Both of them burst out laughing. "I think I spent more nights in a tree than in the cabin," Gilan said. "What'd you do that he kicked you out?"

"Well… remember how I said I didn't like coffee?"

Will smirked. He could already see where this was going. "Yes…"

"Well…once he had me try to make it…and I had no idea what I was doing… and I burned the coffee beans. I had to spend the next two nights up in a tree."

Gilan laughed. "Sounds like Halt. I'd get used to it if I were you. It'll probably happen a lot. He doesn't have the best sense of humor about some things. I found that out the hard way."

"Yes, but Gilan your sense of humor usually involved something being broken."

"So? You still didn't have to make me spend the night in the tree _every time!"_ Gilan said, sounding a little bitter.

"It was tough love," Halt said, with another of his rare grins.

"Okay…it stinks to get stuck in a tree all night," Kit said. "But Will wouldn't give me coffee. For an entire week."

Gilan laughed. "God Will, you're cruel."

Will frowned at Kit. "You deserved it. Tell them what you did."

Halt and Gilan looked at Kit with interest and she instinctively shied away from their gaze. "Well…I uhh…kinda drank all the coffee and forgot to tell Will that we needed to buy more…" She scratched the back of her neck.

Gilan burst out laughing. "Now I understand. I would've done the same thing!"

"Thanks for the support there, Gil," Kit frowned.

"Sorry," Gilan shrugged. "Not my fault you drank all the Coffee." He smirked at her.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Spending a night in a tree is worse," Angelica said, shaking her head at Kit.

"Not when you're as dependant on the stuff as I am," Kit insisted. "I swear that week was the worst week I've ever had in my life. My headache wouldn't go away. It was starting to affect my archery."

"Is that what was wrong?" Will asked, laughing. "That's a little sad, Kit."

"I'd like to see you function for a week without the stuff, Will!" Kit insisted.

"Is that a challenge?" Gilan asked, smirking.

Kit grinned. "Yes. It is. Think you can make it a week without the stuff, Will?"

Will grinned. "You're on. Starting immediately after the gathering."

"Wimp," Gilan said, shaking his head, but smiling at Will.

Kit grinned. "My prediction is that you'll cave after a day."

"Careful Kit. You forget I control your coffee intake too."

Immediately Kit fell silent, looking down at her feet. "Sorry Will."

"That's what I thought," Will said, smirking at his apprentice. "Now come on, we should introduce you to your Commandant."

"We'll come with you," Halt said, motioning to himself and his apprentice. "Angelica needs to be introduced as well."

Will nodded and the four of them started walking off towards Crowley's tent. Her mentor couldn't help noticing that Kit seemed more subdued than usual. Halt noted the same thing about his own protégé.

"Crowley?" Will called as they approached a tent on the far end of the gathering ground.

Kit shifted nervously as another Ranger stepped out of the tent. "Halt! Will! Good to see the both of you!" He grasped forearms with the both of them. "And I assume these two are your apprentices?" He turned his attention to Kit and Angelica.

Will nodded. "Yes. This is Katelyn... though she prefers to go by Kit." Kit grinned sheepishly up at her commandant.

"And this," Halt said, motioning to his apprentice. "Is Angelica." Angelica smiled.

Crowley nodded at the both of them. "Well, girls, it's good to have you as additions to the Corps."

Both girls nodded nervously.

"Are they always this shy?" Crowley asked, looking at the girls' mentors.

"Never," Will said. "Not Kit anyway. This is unusual for her."

"Angelica too," Halt said. "But I assume once they're used to you and figure out that the Corps aren't as formal as they think they'll relax." Will nodded agreement.

Crowley smiled at the two girls who smiled back sheepishly, he then turned back to Will and Halt. "And I assume they will both be being assessed with the other first years?"

"Of course," Both Halt and Will replied, nodding.

Crowley clapped his hands together. "Excellent." He turned back to the girls. "Again, welcome to the Corps."

"Thank you," Both girls murmured.

* * *

><p>Later Kit and Angelica sat against a tree, Kit with a mug of coffee in her hands, enjoying their one chance to catch up without having to worry about constant training that needed to be done.<p>

"What do you like most so far about being a Ranger, Kit?" Angelica asked, and as Kit drew breath to answer she cut her off. "_Besides_ the coffee."

Kit grinned, and thought for a second. "Getting out of dresses."

Angelica burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. I am most definetly not kidding. I always hated dresses and now I have an excuse not to wear them."

Angelica shook her head at her friend. "You're crazy, Kit."

"Oh, but you love me anyways," she smiled. Angelica rolled her eyes.

"What are the two girls doing here?" They heard a voice and both girls looked up to see another Ranger neither of them recognized talking to another Ranger and walking towards them.

"Dunno," His friend said. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're apprentices!" Angelica said indignantly.

"You can't be apprentices," the first Ranger said. "You're girls."

"Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious that we are girls, but we can be apprentices, and we are," Kit said, frowning at the two Rangers in front of her.

"Really?" The second Ranger said. "Who are your mentors?"

"We are," Halt said, as he and Will came up behind their two apprentices. The two other Rangers' eyes widened noticeably and Angelica smirked.

Will placed a protective hand on Kit's shoulder. "And we'd thank you to not make their apprenticship any harder for them than it already is, Ryan," He said, adressing the first Ranger.

"Can they really compete with any of us Rangers, Will?"

"Why don't they show you?" Halt suggested. "As I understand it there is an archery competition tommorow?" The other Rangers nodded. "Good. The both of them will compete. They will show you exactly what it is they are capable of."

Kit let out a small, nervous squeak that only Angelica seemed to notice.

Ryan smirked. "Agreed. We'll see what the girls can do." He and his friend turned to walk away.

"Will!" Kit said, jumping around and spinning in a circle so she was facing him. "I can't compete against full-fledged Rangers in an archery competition!"

"Kit. Kit calm down."

"Will! I can't-"

"Kit! Have you gotten anywhere saying you can't? If I thought you couldn't you wouldn't be my apprentice, okay? You. Will. Do. Fine."

"Okay," Kit mumbled. "But I'm still going to go practice." She grabbed her bow an quiver from where she had leaned it against the tree she had been sitting near and moved off towards the archery range with Angelica following close behind her.

* * *

><p><em>Thwack<em>. _Thwack. Thwack. _Kit released arrow after arrow at the targets.

"Kit, come on, haven't you had enough practice?"

"No."

"Will you at least talk to me while you're practicing?"

"Can't."

"Will you say more than one word?"

"No."

"Uggh! You know what? I give up! Goodbye!"

This time she didn't even get one word, just the constant_ Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. _of Kit's arrows hitting the target.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Sadly, this didn't surprise her.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew...that chapter ended up being a whole lot longer than I thought...but hope you enjoyed it! Review?<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Angelica smiled, taking a moment to assess her situation. Gilan sat a few feet away from her, leaning against a tree, talking to Halt. He had a cup of the stupid coffee in his hands. Angelica's nose wrinkled slightly as she caught a whiff of the stuff. God, she didn't know how they could stand to drink cup after cup of it. She herself could barely get a sip down.

Focus, Angelica told herself. She needed to focus if she was even going to try to get the better of the best unseen mover in the Corps. She took a deep breath and stepped a few paces closer. Halt's eyes flicked up to the spot where she was frozen, hidden in a shade patch.

Damn, she thought. She was caught. Halt had always been able to see her, no matter how silently she moved or how well she blended in. To her utter amazement, Halt didn't say anything, just looked back at Gilan. Angelica had to smile, nearly sighing in relief. Halt wanted her to scare the daylights out of his former apprentice.

With a new conviction, Ange crept still forward. Closer... Just a little closer...

"How's the coffee?" she asked appearing just behind Gilan's shoulder and causing him to spew the sip he had just taken all over Halt.

Halt raised an eyebrow, looking even more intimidating than usual as Gilan sputtered to apologize.

He looked at his apprentice. "Not quite what I had in mind, Angelica," he said, taking off his now coffee-soaked cloak.

"You didn't exactly specify, Halt," she protested, taking a seat in between the two of them. "But, in any case, I apologize for getting Gilan-spit all over you. "

"Guess Halt wasn't kidding when he said you'd give me a run for my money," Gilan said, smiling.

Angelica shrugged off the praise. "Thanks. I'm sure I could pick up a few more tricks from the master. " she smiled and punched Gilan lightly in the shoulder.

"Speaking of tricks you could pick up, don't you have an archery contest you should be practicing for?" Halt asked, looking at his apprentice over the rim of his cup.

Angelica rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, see, I wanted to ask you about that..."

Halt sighed. "If you must. "

"Well... Why exactly do I have to prove myself to these people? I know how good I am, and even if someone was making fun of me, I could stand up for myself. "

"Don't forget 'these people' are Rangers too, just like you. " Halt said sternly, fixing Angelica with a stare.

"Then how come they don't treat me like one?"

"Maybe because you have to prove yourself. "

Angelica sighed, knowing and hating the fact that he right. "I shouldn't have to. "

"I agree, Ange. But it's the way things are, and as much as we try to change them, they're not going to. "

She nodded, silent for a moment. Then she looked back up at her mentor. " Have I ever told you I hate it when you're right?"

Halt's lips quirked up at the corners and Gilan burst out laughing. "Get used to it, Angelica. Halt's always right. "

"I was afraid of that," She muttered.

Despite her complaining, Angelica was beaming by the time the competition started. There were fifteen Rangers shooting, including her, Kit, Will, and Halt. She could tell Kit was nervous, and if she admitted it to herself, she was a little nervous too. After all... Rangers were the best shots in the kingdom... Maybe even the world. That thought alone was enough to send bats careening around in her stomach.

" Ange, you're up. " Kit smiled at her. Angelica took a deep breath and stepped up, knocking and firing seemingly without aiming. She beamed when the arrow thudded into the bull's eye of the target. Kit was next, and her arrow slammed into the bull's eye, just next to Angelica's.

A few more Rangers took their turn at shooting. A few missed the bull's eye by millimeters, so close to the bull's eye it almost it didn't matter. But it was enough to knock them out of the competition.

Halt was next. He pulled back the string of his massive longbow with ease, sending the black-shafted arrow thudding into the exact center of the target, in between both Angelica's and Kit's arrows. Will stepped up after his mentor and shot, his arrow striking the bull's eye as well.

The competition sped on, until only Kit, Will, Halt, and Angelica remained. Angelica stepped up to shoot. Her arrow hit just under the bull's eye. She smiled, though she was knocked out. She didn't exactly mind being beat by her friends.

Halt was next, and he shot, hitting inside the bull's eye, but only just. Angelica noticed Halt's mouth pulled down at the corners. Really, no one would notice unless they knew him.

Will stepped up next, and his arrow thudded into the exact center of the target. Will smiled, the patted Kit on the back. "Good luck, kid" he said, not unkindly. But everyone knew it was impossible to beat the shot will had just fired. But it didn't matter anymore. Not for the girls anyway. The only people who beat them were their mentors. They'd proven themselves. But kit wouldn't quit until it was completely over. She nodded at Will and stepped up in front of the target. She took a deep breath and fired.


	4. Chapter 4

"No way," Kit mumbled, staring at all of her arrows. Her eyes came to rest on one in particular. The one that was directly in the middle of the arrow that Will had shot just before hers.

Will was staring at the arrow too. He rubbed his eyes, as though he didn't believe it. Kit wasn't quite sure she believed it either. "Is that even possible?" she muttered.

"Congratulations," Halt said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Will nodded approvingly at his apprentice. "Just don't let it go to your head."

"I won't," Kit said, her voice quiet. She still couldn't believe the shot she had just made.

"Congratulations, Kit," Crowley said, walking over towards her, and beaming. "That's no easy feat."

Kit nodded dumbly.

"Well, we have our winner," Crowley smiled, patting Kit on the back. Kit felt her mouth lift upward in a smile. "And…" Crowley continued. "now seems as good a time as any to welcome the first two girls to ever join the Ranger Corps."

A murmur raced through the crowd as Crowley spoke and Angelica moved to stand next to Kit as both of them pulled their hoods down so it was plain to see who they were. Angelica smiled at the other Rangers while Kit looked at the ground, wishing she were anywhere else.

Will regarded his apprentice, a smile starting to come over his lips. It was funny, he thought, how his apprentice acted like Halt when it came to attention, and Angelica was more like him.

Crowley introduced both of them by name, then dismissed the crowd.

"Good job, Kit," Will told his apprentice. "That was some shot."

"Yeah," Angelica said. "how come I didn't know you could shoot like that?"

"Cause you didn't pay attention when I was practicing yesterday apparently," Kit said, smiling at her friend.

Angelica scoffed. "Since when do I pay attention?"

Kit rolled her eyes. "That is a good point."

Halt and Will shook their heads at their apprentices.

"Kit?" She looked up to see the Ranger, Ryan, walking towards her, a longbow in his hand.

Will moved to stand defensively behind his apprentice. "Yes?" Kit asked quietly.

"Well…I wanted to…apologize. You proved you belong in the Corps. So uhh…here," he handed her the longbow he was holding. "Anyone who's that good a shot should have a proper longbow. I've been working on this for a while. And well… welcome to the Corps."

Nervously Kit reached out to take the bow. "Thank you," she mumbled, admiring her new bow.

"Thank you, Ryan," Will said, nodding at him. "I was thinking I did need to get her off of a re-curve bow."

Ryan nodded at Will, then looked back at Kit. "Again…welcome to the Corps." Kit grinned and Ryan turned and walked away.

Kit stared at the bow in her hands, not quite believing that it was hers now. She looked up at Will who was smiling at her. "Why don't you go try it out?"

Kit nodded eagerly and stepped up so she was in front of the target and drew and arrow from her quiver. She notched it on the string and pulled back, with only a little difficulty, to full draw. For a fraction of a second she took aim, then released the arrow.

It flew and thudded into the target, just to the left of the bullseye. Kit frowned at her shot. It wasn't up to her usual standard.

"It's not bad, Kit," Will said, surprising her. "It will take you a while to get used to your new bow. But practice-"

"Practice, practice," Kit finished for him, smiling. "I know the drill."

"Good. At least I know you've learned something from me in the past year." He smiled at his apprentice.

* * *

><p>After about fifteen minutes of Kit's practicing Crowley strode up to the four of them. "I need to talk to you all."<p>

"Sure," Will said. "What do you need Crowley?"

"Follow me," Crowley said, and began leading the way back to his tent. Shrugging, the two Rangers and their apprentices followed after him.

The Rangers all stepped into the tent and Crowley turned to face all of them, looking directly at Halt. "Well...I think it's time we call in our special task force again. We recieved a message from the king of Clonmel."

"Sean?"

"Yes. He's asking for our help. Yours in particular Halt."

"Why mine? What's going on?" Halt asked, leaning on his massive longbow.

"Sean's having trouble with a group of people who don't think he should be king. The general consensus of the people is that he's a lot better than Ferris, but this group is getting more and more followers every day, and he needs some help putting it down."

"So it'll be us and Horace then?" Will asked. "And of course Kit and Angelica."

Crowley nodded. "Yes. And I think it best you leave as soon as possible. You will be meeting Horace back in Redmont." The Rangers nodded understanding. "And one more thing. You can't travel as Rangers."

"Of course," Will said nodding. "So then we'll need to find these two dresses." he motioned to the girls and Crowly nodded. "They'll draw too much attention like this." Again, Crowley nodded.

"And you want us to leave now?" Halt asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry to cut the Gathering short for the four of you, but Halt, your nephew has pressed that this matter cannot wait any longer than necessary." Halt nodded solemnly. "Horace should be in Redmont in about three days."

Halt and Will nodded. "We'll be waiting when he gets there."

Crowley nodded at him. "Oh, and once you get back to Redmont take the girls to see either Pauline or Alyss. The two of them helped me to come up with a ...uniform if you will, for the girls and they should have them by now. Best of luck," he said, as the foursome walked from the tent.


	5. Chapter 5

Will looked over at his apprentice who seemed more subdued than usual. She was riding next to him, looking down, and she hadn't said a word since they had left the Gathering two hours ago.

"Is everything alright, Kit?" he asked her. She shrugged without a word and Will frowned. Something was defiantly bugging the girl. "Kit?" She finally looked up. "I can tell something's on your mind. Plus, you haven't asked a single question. That's not normal. So what's going on? Are you nervous about this mission in Hibernia?"

"Not exactly," She said, and her frown deepened. "Will, do I really have to go back to wearing a dress?"

Will laughed quietly. "That's what's bothering you? Kit, you're a girl. Haven't you been wearing dresses your whole life until you became my apprentice?"

"Well, yes, but I hated every minute of it. And now I've discovered pants and you want me to go back to dresses and corsets and all that crap?"

"As I understand it, these dresses will be slightly different from the ones you're used to."

"Aww, why?" Angelica whined.

"You two really are polar opposites, aren't you?" Will laughed. "Anyways, as I said, these won't be like the dresses you're used to."

"But they'll still be dresses, Will! Please…please don't make me wear dresses again."

"Kit, you'll draw too much attention if you don't."

"Then I'll cut my hair and pretend to be a guy if it gets me out of wearing a dress. Come on, Will! Please?"

"Kit, I'm sorry, but you don't have the choice. I can't let you compromise us because you hate dresses."

"Will I won-"

"End of story, Kit."

Kit frowned and looked back at the ground. She stayed silent for the rest of the day's ride back to Redmont.

* * *

><p>Back at Redmont Kit was still abnormally quiet. As they approached Will's Cabin in the woods Halt spoke up. "Will, why don't you go back to your cabin and collect anything you need, and I'll take Kit and Angelica to see Pauline about their uniforms."<p>

Will nodded. "Thank you, Halt," he said, then looked at Kit. "When you're done meet me back here." Kit nodded, as she turned Sparke to follow after Abelard and Raven.

About fifteen minutes later the travel worn Ranger and the two apprentices arrived at Castle Redmont.

Their first stop was at the stables where they fed and watered their horses. Kit slipped Sparke an apple which he chomped greatfully.

"Just like your mentor," Halt said, shaking his head. "You both spoil your horses."

Kit smiled and rubbed Sparke's soft nose affectionately. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Angelica shook her head and grabbed her friend's arm. "Come on! Let's go see what these dresses are like!"

Kit groaned but followed Ange and Halt up to the Ranger's chambers that he shared with his wife, Lady Pauline.

"Pauline?" Halt called, opening the door and walking through followed closely by the two girls.

"Halt?" His wife replied, walking into the room and smiling. "You're back early."

"Special assignment from Crowley," Halt said. "He also said something about you and Alyss having uniforms for our two newest recruits." He motioned to the girls.

Pauline smiled. "Hello Angelica and..."

"Kit," Kit said, smiling. "I'm Will's apprentice."

"It's nice to meet you, Kit." Pauline smiled warmly at the girl.

"Nice to meet you too," Kit mumbled.

Pauline nodded. "So you two need your new uniforms I take it?" She asked. Both girls nodded. "Follow me," Pauline said, "We'll go find Alyss."

She led the two girls through a few doors where they found Alyss finishing work on a green dress. She looked up as the three of them walked into the room.

Kit had met Alyss a few times, when she had come to Will's cabin to see him, but she always felt uncomfortable and out of place around the tall, elegant, blond girl. She herself was a bit of a tomboy and never had taken well to society life while it seemed to fit Alyss perfectly.

Alyss smiled at the two Ranger girls. "Hello Kit, Angelica."

"Hi Alyss!" Angelica chirped while Kit mumbled a small "Hi."

Alyss laughed quietly. "Well, come here. I have your new uniforms for the two of you. We just need to make sure they fit right."

Angelica smiled and Kit frowned slightly. Alyss laughed at the difference in the two girls as she picked up the two dresses and handed one to each of them.

"Yes!" Angelica squealed and ran out of the room to change.

Kit shook her head at her friend and frowned at the dress. "Kit?" Alyss asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I just don't like dresses."

"This one won't be so bad," Alyss said, laughing. "Go put it on then I'll show you and Angelica how this dress is different than the ones you're used to."

Kit nodded and followed Angelica out of the room. She slipped out of her clothes and into the dress, struggled with the tie in the back, then walked back out to where Angelica was already waiting.

Alyss motioned for Kit to walk over to her. "Okay," she said. "Let me show you what sets these dresses apart from others."

Kit nodded.

"Alright, Kit, Angelica, the lower part of your skirt is attatched in a way that you can tear it off and it becomes your cloak. It's attactched with a series of small hooks and brackets which allows you to reattach it as need be. Where it hooks on is just above your knees. The hood of your cloak is folded inside the skirt until you detatch it." Kit smiled, thinking that this idea actually was pretty neat. "The belt around the Middle of the dress," Alyss continued. "is a scabbord to fit your saxe and throwing knives. The actual scabbord is hidden well in the folds of the skirt so it will still be easily acessible for the two of you."

Both girls nodded. "Thanks, Alyss. Lady Pauline."

Both of the diplomats smiled at the girls. "Of course. Now, we should probably getting you two back to your mentors. Alyss, would you like to escort Kit back to Will's?" Pauline asked.

Alyss nodded. "Of course. Come on, Kit."

Kit nodded and followed Alyss out of the room and down to the stables. Sparke knickered in greeting as Kit approached. She smiled and patted her horse's soft nose, slipping him an apple before putting the saddle on his back.

Alyss was almost as fast as Kit at saddling her own horse and they both mounted heading for Will's cabin in the woods.

By the time they got there there was a huge black battle horse tied up outside. "Looks like Horace got here earlier than planned," Alyss remarked and Kit nodded. And to tell the truth, she was nervous about meeting Horace. The Oakleaf Knight wasn't exactly an unknown figure to her and she was slightly intimidated.

Kit dismounted and dropped Sparke's reins on the ground as was the Ranger custom and she and Alyss walked up to the door.

Alyss knocked then walked in. They found Will, and who must be Horace, sitting, each of them with a cup of coffee in their hands.

"Will," Kit frowned. "What happened to going without coffee for a week after the Gathering?"

"The gathering hasn't officially ended yet, now has it, Kit?" Will said, not missing a beat.

"For us it has," Kit said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Alright," Will said. "Starting tomorrow I'll go without coffee for a week."

Horace shook his head. "I doubt that's possible, Will," he said laughing. Then he turned towards Kit. "So I take it you're Will's apprentice? Kit, right?"

Kit nodded. "Yeah."

Horace smiled. "Nice to meet you, Kit," he said, then turned back to Will. "So. What do you have to eat around here?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, Halt what are we going to do now? I don't have much to pack up..." Angelica said, unhooking the bottom of her skirt and fastening around her shoulders, drawing the hood up.

"No, I can see that. Let me just say good-bye to my wife and we'll meet Will and Kit at their cabin." he turned and disappeared deeper into the room.

"And Angelica, aren't you supposed to not wear your cloak?" he said, once he returned. "We're not supposed to travel as Ranger's after all,"

"Right," she said, taking her cloak off, somewhat reluctantly. "Halt? If anyone asks...who are we? Kit and I, I mean. It's obvious we're younger than all of you..."

"You two will be Will's daughters," Halt answered. "Or one of you Will's and one of you Horace's."

Angelica nodded. "Sounds passable. Are we ready to go?"

Halt nodded. "Let's get started. We have a long ride ahead of us. "

Ange groaned. "I hate long rides. "

Sometime later the five of them were well on their way to the kingdom of Clonmel, where Sean's castle in Dun Kilty was. The road was wide enough for all of them to ride abreast, and the five companions did so. Kit and Angelica had been separated, one on each end of the line, in an attempt by Halt to stop their incessant chatter. Angelica pouted, staring straight ahead and pulling her long black hair over her shoulder, braiding it and re-braiding it over and over again.

After the tenth or eleventh time of this, Halt sighed from where he was sitting next to her. "I do hope you realize no matter how many times you braid your hair, it's only ever going to come out as one thing - a braid."

Ange shook out her hair. "Sorry, Halt. Just bored. "

"Why don't you try practicing your observational skills? There's a lot to look at up here. "

"Yes, those rainclouds look so interesting," Angelica muttered without looking up, sinking lower in her saddle. She felt like screaming, or at the very least clawing her brains out. She didn't deal with boredom well.

Instead she leaned foreword and rested her head on Raven's neck. She closed her eyes, wondering if she could actually sleep in the saddle, when she felt a sharp kick to her leg. Ange shot up, shooting a glare at Halt, who was speaking to Horace about something completely irrelevant.

Angelica just stared at her mentor until he finally turned around. "Can I help you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

Ange just shook her head and stared resolutely forward, and found herself braiding her hair again, just to have something for her hands to do.

She was ready to burst when Halt finally found a place for them to camp for the night - just as it began to pour down rain.

"Can I put the cloak on _now_?" Kit asked Will, taking what shelter she could under the trees.

Will nodded. "I think that's best. "

Both girls unhooked the bottom of the skirts, revealing the brown leggings they had on under. Angelica wrung out her hair before pulling her hood on. Kit's hair was too short to have that problem.

"I'm freezing," Angelica shivered, pulling her knees in and wrapping her arms around them.

" Sorry, Angelica, " Halt said, his face softening slightly, "But we can't afford a fire. It's too wet to burn wood anyway, and anything we got to burn would give off a lot of smoke."

" Does that mean cold food again?" Horace asked, sitting against his saddle and glowering.

Will sat down next to him. "Why yes it does. Get used to it, Horace. This doesn't look like it's gonna clear up for a while. What I wouldn't give for a cup of hot coffee right now." the young man said wistfully.

"You can't have coffee, Will," Kit said, grinning a little too broadly. "It's only been a few days."

"Great," Will muttered, now miserable as well. "Cold food _and_ no coffee."

Angelica laughed. "Do the poor little Rangers not know what to do with themselves?"

Suddenly a wad of mud hit her square in the face. She slowly wiped the disgusting gook off her face. "Kit? _it's in. My. Hair._" she turned toward the grinning girl.

"Don't make fun of the poor little Rangers." Kit smirked.

Angelica stood up slowly, struggling to control herself. She didn't notice the small smile forming on Halt's lips as he gestured for Will to move away from his own apprentice. She only noticed the new public enemy number one, the smirking girl who had mud covering her hands.

"You're dead!" Angelica screamed as she tackled Kit into the ground, sufficiently covering the both of them head to toe in the landslide waiting to happen.

Kit swore and pushed the smaller girl off her. She tried to stand up but Angelica slammed her fist into Kit's knee, causing her to collapse. Kit yanked on Angelica's long hair. Angelica screamed, and landed a blow just under Kit's rib cage. Kit kicked her. "Get off of me!"

Ange threw a handful of mud into Kit's face. "We're even!"

Kit laughed, wiping mud out of her eyes. "Hate to brake it to you, Ange, but I love being covered in this. "

Suddenly Angelica was laughing too. "I should have known. "

" Well, now," Halt said, finally deciding to speak up, "anyone seriously injured?"

"I think half my hair is missing, but I'm okay," Angelica said, rubbing her head where Kit had pulled on her hair.

"I'm fine," Kit said, standing and helping Angelica up.

"God, I'm covered in this crap," Angelica complained, looking down at her new dress - now more brown than green.

"That's your own dumb fault," Kit laughed at her.

Angelica was about to say something when Horace stepped between them. "It'll wash out in the rain anyway. Why don't you two just stop fighting?"

"You think that was fighting?" Angelica asked. "That was nothing. You should see Kit and I-"

"Kit and me," Halt interrupted her.

Angelica glared at him before continuing. "You should see _Kit and me _really fight. "

"I don't think that'll be healthy for ether of you," Will smiled, standing up and stretching, moving over to his saddle bags and pulling food out. "There's no way to keep it from getting wet," he said, handing out slices of bread to everyone, "So eat it fast. "

Kit and Angelica settled under a large tree, the driest place they could find. "You know," Angelica mused, tearing off a piece of bread with her teeth, "Normally I love rain. This bites."

"You can say that again," Kit muttered, "I hate rain to begin with."

"You need a distraction," Halt said. "You're moving through the woods towards an enemy. You don't know where they are. You notice there's a river near by, and you have to fill up your canteen. What do you do?"

"Avoid the river," Angelica said immediately. "It's a natural line of drift- something you should stay away from when you don't know where enemy numbers are."

"The water will slosh around anyway if you fill up a canteen," Kit jumped in.

Halt nodded. "Well, Will, seems your apprentice knows a bit about what she's talking about."

"I'm a good mentor," he called from where he was sitting next to Horace, eating a piece of cheese.

Halt disguised his laugh by asking another question. "How many standing orders are there?"

"Eleven," Angelica answered.

"Twelve," Kit disagreed.

"No, there's not. "

"Yes there is!"

"No, there's not!"

"Name them, both of you," Halt interrupted. "First?"

"Don't forget anything. " Kit answered immediately.

" Oh, that doesn't count! That goes without saying!"

"Technically, Angelica, she's right. It's a standing order," Will said, grinning. "I spent my nights in a tree until I accepted the fact. "

"Next one?" Halt asked.

"When you're on the march, act like you're sneaking up on a deer. See the enemy first." Angelica recited.

"Good. Next. "

"Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. There's an army depending on you for correct information. You can lie all you want when you tell other folks about Rangers, but don't ever lie to a ranger or officer. " Kit and Angelica said together.

"Keep going."

"Don't ever take a chance you don't have to." Kit started.

"Never stay longer than you have to in enemy territory. It makes you a target." Angelica said after her.

"When you camp, always have someone on watch."

"If you take prisoners, keep them separate until you examine them so they can't get a story between them."

"Retracing your steps makes you predictable. Don't do it. It's not worth it."

"Don't sleep in. Don't."

"Don't cross a river where it will be predicted. Although that's just common sense."

"If somebody's trailing you, make a circle, come back onto your tracks, and ambush the people that mean to ambush you."

"Make yourself small. Dont let yourself be seen. Get close to the ground."

"Don't get too close if you can avoid it, it won't help you. If you can't keep your distance wait until you will have the advantage. Always makes sure it's you with the advantage."

"Good, you two," Halt congratulated them. "It seems you've done your job, Will." He called.

"I'm just an amazing mentor, Halt."

"And for that, Will, you can have first watch."

"And I use my authority as a King's Ranger to pass it off to Horace."

"You can't do that! Can he do that Halt?"

"I just did. Alright. Angelica, you're next."

Ange rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I'm waking Kit up after me."

"Gee, thanks," Kit said sarcastically, settling down into the driest patch of ground she could find.

"Everybody get some rest," Halt commanded as he rolled up in his cloak, "We're in for a long night."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: you know? I really don't understand why we do these things. We obviously don't own it. It is called FANficition for a reason.**

* * *

><p>Angelica sat leaning against a tree. To anyone else it would look like she was asleep but in all actuality she was wide awake and more alert than most people would ever be, being a Ranger. Or at least a Ranger's apprentice.<p>

Angelica's trained ears picked up what she thought to be the dull echo of footsteps nearby. She forced herself to remain still and listen. Sure enough more footsteps followed. Angelica swore quietly and moved to shake Kit awake hoping that whoever was approaching wasn't close enough to see her motion.

"Kit!" she hissed as quietly as she could. "Kit! Wake up!"

"What?" Kit hissed, not sitting up.

"There's someone close by. Not sure who."

"Have you told Will or Halt?" she asked.

"No. I'm afraid I'm wrong and they'll only be irritated that I woke them up."

"Alright Ange, fine. I'm up." Kit slowly sat up when all four of the Ranger horses let out quiet whinnies.

Immediately both girls were alert and they stood up, patting the horses' necks to let them know they'd received the message. "Ange, maybe we should wake up the others." There was no reply from Angelica. "Ange?" Kit asked, turning around, only to find her friend collapsed on the ground, an arrow protruding from her shoulder.

Kit drew in breath to yell when something sharp hit her in the arm.

Almost immediately she began to feel dizzy and felt her knees go weak. "Damn," she muttered, collapsing to the ground.

* * *

><p>Kit moaned, coming to, only to find that both her hands and feet were tied and she was lying face down across the back of an unfamiliar horse with an unfamiliar rider in front of her.<p>

"Wondered when you were gonna wake up, little Ranger," the rider laughed, twisting in the saddle to look at her.

Kit frowned. "Who the hell are you and what do you want?"

"They won't tell us." Kit recognized Angelica's voice and looked at the horse running next to her and saw Ange in the same position as she was, behind yet another unfamiliar rider. "I've tried."

Kit's frown deepened. She hated being kept in the dark. She knew Angelica did too.

"You're really not going to tell us anything?" Kit demanded. "Really?"

The rider in front of her looked at his companion. "I think I liked it better when she was unconscious."

"Tell me about it."

Kit frowned. "You two realize you captured two King's Rangers, right?"

"From what I understand you two are just apprentices. Without any weapons. What can you two do?"

"Well from here, nothing." Kit addmitted. "But I think you're forgetting that as apprentices we have mentors."

"Kit!" Angelica hissed. "Shut up would you? You're not helping our situation!"

Kit fell silent, realizing that Angelica was right.

"It won't matter anyway," the rider in front of Ange said. "They won't find us where we're going."

Kit opened her mouth to say something but stopped at a glare from Angelica fell silent. But she couldn't believe that Halt and will wouldn't be able to find them. Rangers were the best trackers in the kingdom. And Halt and Will were the best that have ever been. Maybe the best that ever will be. They'd find them, wouldn't they?

Kit kicked her feet, trying to loosen the bonds holding them together, and worked at her hands as well. The rider in front of her didn't seem to notice. Kit grinned as she finally felt the ropes fall away from her feet.

Kit looked up at Ange and mouthed. "I got it."

"What?" Ange mouthed back.

"My feet. They're out."

"Then run!" she mouthed back, jerking her head to behind them.

"But what about you?"

"Find Will and Halt. I'll be fine. Go."

Kit nodded, smiling sadly at her friend and rolled off the back of the horse. She got to her feet and took off running.

"Hey!" The rider on Ange's horse yelled. "Seamus! You're Ranger's getting away!"

"Damn," Kit muttered, still working on the ropes on her hands and trying to get into the trees. Seamus swung his horse around and came after her. Just before she hit the trees she was grabbed by the back of her dress and hauled up onto the horse.

Kit scowled and Seamus had one arm tightly around her waist while he gripped the reins in his other hand. She tried to throw her elbow backwards into his gut but he slapped her across the face. Kit gasped and remained still for the rest of the trip.

They found they were being taken to a series of caves and as they made their way up the rocky hill Kit understood why they were so confident that Halt and Will wouldn't be able to find them. It was nearly impossible to track someone on rocky ground where there would be no hoof or footprints to follow.

The riders dismounted off their horses and dragged the girls down after them. Angelica hit the rocks with a thud, the breath rushing out of her lungs. While she struggled for a minute to breathe, the rider she had been tied behind cut the bonds on her feet.

"Stand up," he said gruffly, grabbing her arm and pulling her up painfully.

When she was on her feet Angelica jabbed an elbow backwards into his gut. "And that," she said. "Would be for slapping my friend."

In response he shoved her roughly ahead of him. Ange stumbled, but managed to stay on her feet. She walked ahead, using her teeth to loosen the ropes around her wrists. She noticed Kit doing the same.

They finally made their way up the hill and into a cave mouth. The girls were led through a series of tunnels and Kit tried, and knew, failed, to memorize all the turns.

"Oh we are in such deep shit right now," she muttered to Ange who nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Will rolled over, pulling his cloak over his face to keep the sun out. But something wasn't quite right. He couldn't place it.<p>

Suddenly it clicked. The sun was up. It was morning and Kit hadn't woken him for his watch. He jumped to his feet, looking around for Kit. He didn't see her anywhere, but Sparke was still here. He looked for Angelica and found she was missing too.

Will swore quietly and went to shake Halt awake, following with Horace. "Get up!" he said. "It's morning. The girls are missing!"

"What?" Halt asked, sitting up. "And why didn't you wake me up for my watch, Will?"

"Because Kit never woke me up," Will answered. "Now get up. Both of you. We need to go find them!"

Halt hopped to his feet but Horace moaned. "As in now!" Will snapped. "Up!" He dragged, with some difficulty, the bigger man to his feet.

With Horace up and Halt combing the ground looking for a trail, Will began packing up camp.

"Find anything?" Will asked, after he had finished.

"Well yes, but..." Halt began.

"But what?"

"We found five different trails."

"Damn," Will muttered. This was going to be harder than he thought.


	8. Chapter 8

This is where you stay," one of the guards said, pushing the girls into a small room with one way out- the way they were pushed through. A rock was rolled over the entrance, sealing the way out. The only light came from a skylight almost one hundred meters up.  
>Angelica noticed Kit curl up, beginning to breathe heavily. "Kit, what's wrong?"<br>"I hate small spaces," kit said, her hand going to her neck, where her bronze oakleaf hung - or used to hang, as Angelica knew. "Where the hell is my oakleaf?" Kit nearly screamed, panicking.  
>" It's gone, Kit. They took them when we were strapped to the back of horses. Look! Mine's gone too." Ange yanked the collar of her dress away from her neck. "They're using them to lay a false trail. To throw Halt and Will off. " Angelica sat down beside her friend. "If we don't get out of here on our own, we aren't getting out at all." <p>

_Which trail do we follow?_ Will wondered. There wasn't much to do but try each of them. They'd lose time but they couldn't abandon the girls.  
>"Well...let's try this one first," Will said. "we can all switch off riding the girls' horses. I'll start on Sparke." he walked over to the reddish horse and in his ear whispered "May I?" before mounting.<br>Without a word, Halt spurred Raven forward, moving as fast as he could and still be able to search his surroundings for any clues. Of course there was the obvious- broken twigs, faint hoof- and footprints, even shreds of clothing caught on branches. It was all too obvious.  
>"This isn't the way they took, Will. " Halt called, standing in his stirrups to look behind him, where Will and Horace rode, sweeping the surroundings to ensure Halt hadn't missed anything.<br>"Why do you say that?" Will asked, pulling up next to his old mentor.  
>"For one, it's too obvious. The group is moving at night, around trained Rangers. They'd avoid anything that would make noise. Including branches. " Halt indicated a broken branch to his left. "And two, they're heading east, toward the coast. The only ships that leave from here go to Araluen and anyone smart enough to kidnap a Ranger wouldn't take them to a place they'll be recognized. "<br>" So what do you propose we do? Go back and start from the beginning?" Horace asked, shifting in his saddle.  
>"I don't think we have a choice," Will answered. "We have to find them. "<br>That settled, the three of them returned to their starting point. The trails all branched out from where they had originally camped, one in almost every direction. It was more than a little aggravating.  
>Finally, the shout that they were all looking for came from Horace, who was kneeling on the ground: "Halt, Will, look!" As they crowded around, they saw with some horror that he was holding a bronze oakleaf, the clasp on the chain broken like it had been ripped off a slender neck.<br>"It's Angelica's. " Halt said, no emotion in his voice. "She switched out the chains from the original." he pointed to the silver chain, bringing their attention to the splash of red on the bright metal. It wasn't hard for the three men to recognize blood. 

Angelica rubbed the back her neck, her fingers finding the scab of the new cut just under her hairline. She pulled her fingers away, looking at them and relieved to find them dry. "Good news, Kit. It finally stopped bleeding."  
>"Oh, good. " Kit said, not moving from where she was sitting against the far wall, staring up at the skylight. "I can rest easy now."<br>Ange rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be so sarcastic. Hostage situations are tense enough as it is. "  
>Kit looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "Really? Hostage situations?"<br>"That's what this is, isn't it? We're hostages. I'm fairly certain they didn't invite us here for afternoon tea."  
>"Oh, no, Ange, we're distinguished guests. This is the king's suite. " Kit gestured around the tiny space.<br>"We just have to stay optimistic. "  
>"Optimistic? You can't be serious. " kit said, pushing herself up. "We've been here two days now. Nothing. No food, no water, and practically no sleep. We're <em>dying<em>, Angelica!"  
>"You think I don't know that?" Angelica screamed, losing control of her temper. "I know we have to get out of here! But that rock weighs two tons, and you and I both know the two of us can't move it! So unless a hole pops up out of the ground and takes us away from this death trap we're stuck here, okay? At least I'm trying to stay positive!" she stared at Kit, anger coiled up in her stomach like some heavy snake.<br>Kit remained silent. Like Angelica, she didn't want to push this any further. She recognized that they both needed each other and a fight wouldn't help anything. But she wasn't going to apologize. Not yet anyway.  
>Her hand went absentmindedly to where her oakleaf should have been. She missed the feeling of the metal on her neck.<br>"Ange?" she asked quietly. "we're not getting out are we?"  
>Angelica slid down against the wall. "Don't say that, Kit. " she said as the older girl sat next to her. "We just... Need an opportunity. And a plan. "<br>Just then the rock covering the entrance began to move, sliding slowly to the side as someone pushed it.  
>"That's an opportunity if I've ever seen one," Kit grinned.<br>"Agreed. Run if you get the chance, Kit. Even if it means leaving me behind. "  
>"Ange-"<br>"Don't argue!"  
>Both girls stood up as two men walked in. One was tall but overweight, with long gray hair and startlingly blue eyes. Angelica noticed he walked with a heavy limp. He was carrying two trays of food. The smell was enough to make Ange's mouth water. The other man was tall and well-muscled, holding a spear. Obviously a guard.<br>"Here. For you," the white-haired man said, smiling as he placed the trays on the ground. Both the girls just stared at him. "We can leave if you like," the man smiled, obviously trying to set them at ease. His voice just grated on Ange's nerves.  
>"How about you let us go?" Angelica said, smiling sweetly.<br>"I apologize, but I cannot. You girls are very important roles in a scheme you may not yet understand. "  
>"I think we understand it pretty clearly," Kit spat.<br>"You can't use us to lure our mentors here," Angelica snarled.  
>"I don't think you understand. I'm not trying to lure them here. I'm using a series of intentionally placed clues to maneuver the three young men who came with you into a spot of my choosing. "<br>"What do you want with them?" Kit asked, barely keeping her temper under control.  
>"All will be revealed, in time. But for now, eat and rest. You will need your strength."<br>"How do we know you haven't poisoned anything?" Angelica questioned, standing up straight, stock-still, her face blank, her normally bright green eyes dark. She was beyond angry.  
>In response, the white-haired man reached down and took a bite from one of the plates.<br>Neither of the girls moved.  
>"Well, if you don't eat, your mentors are going to die in vain. "<br>The next few seconds happened so fast Kit barely registered it. Angelica rushed forward, kicking the white-haired man in his bad leg. As he stumbled back, falling to the ground, the guard backhanded Angelica across her cheek. She dropped to her knees, both hands over her face.  
>Kit knelt next to her. Up close, she could see blood seeping between Ange's fingers. The two men retreated back through the doorway, sealing the entrance behind them. In the silence of the cave, Angelica began to do something she had never done before - she began to cry.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Damn," Horace muttered, as he thrust forward, cutting down the last enemy. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Will go down, hit over the head.

He quickly sheathed his sword and rushed to Will's side where Halt was already kneeling. Will's hand was on his head, as he struggled to sit up.

"Easy, Will," Halt said, easing him back down.

"I'm okay. Really," Will said. "We need to find the girls…"

"You're here. We don't know where they are," Horace said. "As it stands now we can't do anything for them."

"Besides, you're bleeding pretty good," Halt said, examining Wills head. He whistled and Abelard walked over to him. Reaching into his saddlebag, Halt pulled out a spare cloth and held it to Will's head. "We need to find a place to camp for the night," he decreed, helping Will to his feet.

Hit by a wave of vertigo, Will stumbled, caught by four hands and a nose. Tug supported his friend, helping him to a sheltered spot in the trees. Horace started a fire, while Halt sat down to take a look at his former apprentice.

"Will, this needs stitches. "

"Damn," Will muttered.

"Horace, go in Abelard's saddlebag and grab the brown satchel... Yes, that one," Halt directed him, reaching out for it. He opened the bag, finding the medical salve and smearing it onto Will's head. He waited a few moments for the warmweed to set in, noticing Will's uncomfortable little movements at the smell.

"Just sit still, Will," Halt said, setting to work on the stitches.

"Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Will, I would be done faster if you weren't so distracting with your 'ow's."

"Sorry, Halt, but it hurts."

"Of course it hurts. There's a needle in your forehead. Now sit still. "

Biting his lip, Will did as he was told and allowed Halt to finish the stitches in his head.

"well...Lessgegoin" Will slurred after Halt was done with the stitches. "Gotta find the girls..."

"No. We'll camp here for the night. We can't have you tromping around on a horse."

Tug sniffed. _I do not tromp_.

Sparke snorted too. _compared to me you do._

"Halt, the horses are talking."

Halt looked at horace. "I think we're in for a long night. "

"Do we let him sleep?" Horace asked.

"Yes!" Will said. "Sleep is good!"

"Not with a possible concussion."

"I'm cut. Not concussed. I can sleep. I'll even take the first watch."

"Hard to argue with that," Horace said.

"I'll consider it, but first, what's your name?"

"Who's? Mine or Horace's?" Will asked.

"Yours."

"Will Treaty. I was named that because I was the one who put the treaty with Skandia into place. I don't have a concussion Halt. I remember everything."

Halt frowned slightly, but nodded. "Alright, Will. You're on first watch. Wake me up, then Horace."

He nodded. "Will do, Halt."

* * *

><p>"How you doing?" Kit asked Angelica, who was sitting across from her. Angelica's cheek was purple now, though the swelling had gone down dramatically.<p>

"Fine. I'm hungry," The girl complained, shifting positions.

"That's your fault. The only food we had you refused to eat."

"Do you *want* to be drugged again? I don't know about you, but that wasn't the best experience for me. "

You think it was any better for me?" Kit asked. "Besides. There'd be no point in drugging us now, would there?"

"I don't want to take the chance."

"Fine," Kit muttered. "Starve yourself. See if I care."

Angelica frowned, trying to ignore the other girl's sarcasm. She knew they were both edgy. And they both had every reason to be.

"Some rangers we turned out to be," Angelica muttered.

"What happened to optimism?" Kit asked, remembering Ange's advice from earlier.

"Optimism? That died right around when I got hit in the face. Sorry, I can't stay happy all the blasted time. "

"Excuse me for trying to diffuse the situation. " kit spat back.

"instead of difusing the situation why don't you go ahead and find a way to fix it!"

"Me? Why the hell is it all on me?" Kit snapped, standing up.

Angelica smirked, standing up and facing the older girl. "Don't fight with me, Kit. You'll lose and you know it."

Kit pushed angelica into the wall. "Why don't you stop assuming things? I'm stronger than I look. "

"So am I." Angelica snarled, pushing Kit back. Kit stumbled, regained her footing, and dove on top of Angelica. The girls hit the floor with a thud. Kit landed on top, so Angelica grabbed her short hair and yanked her to the side.

Angelica rolled to her knees, staring at the blond girl rubbing the back of her head.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" kit demanded.

"Me? You pushed me first!" Angelica stood up. She shook her head, turning away.

"At least this whole thing isn't my fault!"

Angelica stopped dead. "_What?_" she asked, turning around slowly.

"If you would have just told Halt none of this would have happened!"

"Are you serious? My fault?" Ange tried to hide the fact that what Kit was saying was true. So she did the only thing she could think of - shoved her best friend into the rock wall as hard as she could.

Kit hit with a loud thud...but didn't stop. She went straight through the wall.

"What the hell?" Angelica muttered, and ran over. Kit was already on her feet.


	10. Chapter 10

Kit and Angelica looked at each other. "No-"

"Way," Angelica finished. She looked back at the hole. "What do you say, Kit? Think it's our ticket out?"

Kit thought for only a moment. "I don't see another option. Your call, Ange. Take it or no?

"Well…if it leads to a dead end we're screwed. They'll find us, and after an escape attempt I'd be willing to bet that our situation would get a hell of a lot worse. But I'd never forgive myself if we had a shot to get out and we didn't take it."

"Agreed," Kit said. She didn't wait for any sign from Angelica, just ducked into the darkness, and inched her way forward. She kept one hand out in front of her to make sure she didn't run into anything. The other clutched at her oakleaf, which she realized with a jolt wasn't there, as she forced back the panic that came with enclosed spaces.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was only her sheer will that kept her rom screaming.

"It's alright, Kit," Angelica whispered, feeling her friend tense at her touch. "It's just me. I figured you could use a little reassurance."

"Thank you," Kit whispered, and she could feel the tension slip from her muscles. She kept moving forward, aware of Angelica sticking close to her.

* * *

><p><em>It has to end. It has to end somewhere. I'm okay<em>. Kit felt like she was about to break. She'd been in the dark too long and it was starting to take on a solid consistency. Breathing became harder, and each step was met with resistance. _It's all in your head, Kit. Keep moving. Keep going._

"How long have we been going?" Kit asked, hoping hearing voices would help with thinning the darkness.

"I'd say about half an hour. Maybe a little bit more," Angelica answered.

"Do you think they've noticed we're missing yet?"

"Doubtful. They don't have any reason to check on us, and they probably won't until they decide it's time to feed us again."

Kit nodded, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't be seen. "How far do you think we've walked."

Angelica shrugged. "Mile? Mile and a half maybe. I don't have any way of knowi-hey. Do you see that?" She squinted. She could swear she saw a pinprick of light up ahead, but she didn't know whether or not her mind was starting to play tricks on her.

"See wh-oh. The light? Yeah…yeah I see it."

"Oh, good!" Angelica smiled, and without either one suggesting it the two girls picked up the pace to as close to a sprint as they dared come in the dark. They moved faster and faster the closer they came to the light.

Kit laughed, hysterically, as they spilled out into a vast cavern, the ceiling more than 200 meters above their head. It opened up to the sky, and light streamed in. It reflected off a stream in front of them.

Kit moved closer to look at the water. It was narrow, less than five feet across, but it was at least twice that deep. It got wider as it flowed into a tunnel, that left about two feet of space between the surface of the water and the top of the tunnel. "Well," Kit took a deep breath and swallowed. "It's gotta let out somewhere, right?" She ditched her shoes on the shore and plunged into the cold water. She surfaced, sputtering and shaking water out of her hair, before swimming to the edge and grabbing her shoes. She held them above water, so as to avoid creating a pointless weight for her to carry.

"You can't be serious," Angelica said, staring at her friend, who was now treading water. "You want to go through that tunnel…in a _river?_"

"Do you see a better option?" Kit asked. "Besides. There's room for us to breathe at the surface."

"And how will we know if that changes?"

"Ange, we don't have a choice, here. If we run out of air we can turn around and swim upstream. The current's not that strong. Get in the water."

She hesitated. "Is it cold?"

"No, Ange. It's a hot spring. Get in the water."

Angelica kicked off her shoes, took a breath, and leapt into the water. "You liar," She coughed when she came back up.

"If I had told you it was cold you wouldn't have gotten in. I did what I had to and regret nothing. Now let's get going." She swam toward the tunnel entrance, and closed her eyes, before she was once again plunged into total darkness. Angelica grabbed her shoes off the shore before following.

She floated on the surface of the water, face up, and let the current carry her. She figured it was easier than trying to guess the twists and turns the water would take through the tunnel. "Ange?" She called back, hearing her friend splashing in the water. "Just float! It makes things easier." Angelica didn't reply but Kit knew she had taken the advice because the water calmed. Either that or she was drowning, Kit laughed quietly, then the thought ran through her head again and she twisted around, squinting to see her friend. She was floating. _Thank God._

Kit closed her eyes, and let the current do it's job.

She finally opened her eyes again when the current ebbed, and she found herself in a large lake. She smiled. "Ange! We did it! We _made_ it!" She splashed in the water and dove under the surface, doing a celebratory somersault in the water, before coming up and swimming towards the shore.


End file.
